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Disney/Pixar’s CARS property probably gets the most heat from folks, described as the worst Pixar film released, but this comes mainly from movie-goers who have never even seen it. To the many who gave CARS a chance, it’s actually a pretty strong film filled with great characters and wonderful visuals; and it’s certainly one of Pixar’s most profitable properties generating billions in toy sales. But who could blame them? They tapped Mattel, the maker of Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars to do the honors and they’ve done a spectacular job capturing the likes of Lightning McQueen and Mater in die cast form (we’ll ignore the color changers and lenticular eyes idea).

With CARS 2 speeding towards a theatrical release June 24th, Mattel is hoping to capture “Lightning (McQueen)” in a bottle once again. The CARS 2 product line follows the original release pretty closely with a slew of single pack cars and also two-packs. Finn McMissile (played by Michael Caine) is available as a single carded car but we’re looking at this two-pack because it comes with an exclusive character: Tomber.

The packaging is fairly similar to previous releases using card and bubble, this time with CG artwork of the characters in front of a Mediterranean backdrop and graphics advertising the “exclusive vehicle”. The back of the card offers a look at the other two-packs showing you their CG forms instead of their toy forms. I think this is smart way to start.

Sculpt on these cars from what I can see on the packaging is dead-on. Finn McMissile is a remarkable toy with great detail as is Tomber. The side mirrors aren’t die-cast but soft plastic. It’s not a huge eyesore but I hope this is done sparingly. Finn is a 1964 Aston Martin DB5. Tomber is an unstable 3-wheeled French car, which I suppose makes sense since his name literally means “to fall”. Both cars have their own unique tires and I’m hoping that applies to the other characters as well.

Paint looks great, especially on Finn since he has a sparkly metallic hue. The eyes aren’t sculpted but painted, giving him a certain heir of confidence. Smaller details on his hood, license plate are a nice touch. Tomber has speckles of dirt and I’m unsure if this is a flaw or not, but his tail-light appears to be chipped.

As toys and mementos from a movie, you can’t get better than what Mattel does for CARS 2. Great sculpts and paint (generally speaking) is all you’re looking for and they certainly delivered. Now let’s just cross our fingers and hope the movie is as good or better than the first.